Aneca
by BlackBear53
Summary: The past has come back to haunt Callen. Who is it and why are they there? Thank you to all for all the patience and helpful encouragement.
1. Chapter 1

My name is G. Callen. Unfortunately, no one has ever told me what the G stands for and I just don't care anymore. I used to when I was a kid looking for my family. Now I have a family of my own so I'm not looking anymore. For close to a year now I've been in love with my wife Sara and fallen completely under the spell of our daughter, Gretchen. The people that matter most in my life see me as a different person. I am content with my new life. We live in Narragansett, Rhode Island, in a house with a white picket fence. It is perfect. It is close enough to the beach that I can surf when I have time, although the water is a little colder than what I was used to in California. Currently, I work at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, teaching agents to do what I used to do, Special Operations.

I brought my wife and daughter home from the hospital on a cold day in mid-November. I helped Sara from the car and rose from unbuckling Gretchen's car seat when I noticed a flash on the hillside across from our home: the same hillside the Comescus camped on a month before. It could have been a runner with a water bottle or a shooter with a rifle and a scope. Jethro Gibbs trained me to think with my gut so I trusted my training. I hustled my ladies into the house and snuck out the back door. When I got to the hilltop, the person, whoever they were had swept the clearing clean and left. I found no footprints, nothing left behind. I'd expected that from someone who meant us harm.

I started running every day even though I hadn't run in a real long time. I wanted to keep track of who went to the clearing and how often. Visiting the hilltop became part of my run. I varied where I put the visit to the clearing in and even though it could've compromised me, I did it anyway. Stopping on the hillside was a risk I would willingly take to protect my family.

* * *

><p>Three weeks after Gretchen was born, we left for California. Every year, NCIS holds a conference where I usually teach and I take a few classes as part of my continuing education. The whole team is expected to attend. That year, Sam's new partner would be there. I heard she was able to hold her own with the team and even had impressed Sam: that's hard to do.<p>

While I waited for the day to leave, I spent time at home and more time examining the running trails on Luther's farm. I also talked to Luther to find out if he'd been up there the day Sara and Gretchen came home, but he said that he had worked with his attorney in Providence all that day.

That flash unnerved me and kept me going back up there. Any forensic evidence should have disappeared. I decided to visit the site where the flash had come from one more time before leaving for Los Angeles. I don't know how I missed it, or if I missed it, but there was a candy wrapper lodged between a tree and a rock. Something told me the watcher had come back. I sent a picture to Eric Beale, our technical wizard in Los Angeles. I trusted him to help me out and Hetty had given her permission for using the Op center to assist in my investigation. While up at the hilltop I felt eyes on me. Maybe they were Sara's, but I doubted it.

The night before we left, we finished up packing clothes, baby equipment -and my Sig Sauer. It's nice being a federal agent who could carry on a plane. Sara and I both felt that we were going to be followed, and I actually hoped we were. If I could spot the tail, maybe I'd find out why they were here.

We flew out of T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island on Friday on a non-stop flight to Los Angeles. While driving to the airport, I knew we were being tailed. Sara knew it too. I just couldn't spot them: this person was a pro. We checked in and checked the bags, went to the gate and still had the feeling of being watched. I started taking pictures of Sara and Gretchen and surreptitiously, the other passengers, and then sent them to Eric for facial recognition. I could wait until we reached Los Angeles for the answer.

On the plane and I still felt watched. I got up on the pretense of getting things from the overhead but I never saw anyone familiar.

When Sam picked us up at LAX I felt relieved to see him. Sam and I thought that we'd been followed from the airport. Sam dropped Sara, Gretchen and me in front of Hetty's house where we had planned to stay. I had Sara walk through the house with Gretchen and out the back gate. I hung back and watched for anyone that might have followed us, but I never saw anyone. Sam sat and waited for us around back and drove us to another of Hetty's houses. I left Sara there with express instructions not to open the door to anyone except me. From there I went to the Mission to get a car, pick up the gifts, and talk with the team, just in case I needed their help.

* * *

><p>Sam walked into the mission before me and an enthusiastic group of two, Kensi and Deeks, greeted me. They wanted to know about Sara and Gretchen, and Kensi begged to see pictures. I'm a very proud father, so I showed her every picture in my bragbook.<p>

Hetty waved at me from her office and motioned for me to follow her to OPS. She watched as Eric ran facial rec. He shook his head as if to say, "_nothing yet"_ so Hetty nodded and went back to her office.

I leaned over the back of Eric's chair and patted him on the back. "Hey Eric, it's good to see you. Where's Nell?"

Eric looked up at me through those geeky glasses he favors. "Callen, welcome back. Fatherhood agrees with you. Nell's in the armory. She'll be back soon."

I leaned over the back of his chair and looked at the computer screen he was working at and it wasn't what I was looking for. The information looked like it might have been Sam's case. "What did you find out about the candy wrapper?"

Eric changed the screen to our search. "Oh, the candy is sold widely in Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Romania. It is a malted milk panel covered in white chocolate." Eric's brain went somewhere else and he began to think out loud. "Hmm, I wonder what a white chocolate malted milk ball tastes like." There was a moment of hesitation. "Oh sorry…. Ah, I mean I'm sorry it's not more Callen."

I chuckled at Eric. "Don't worry about it. We'll get other clues." Something about the candy bar seemed familiar, though.

I would have to do some thinking about this. "Thanks Eric. I'll catch up with you later."

I went downstairs and met up with Sam. "Hey where is your new partner?"

Sam looked up with a look of mock indignation. He put his hands to his chest with the fingers all extended and he "simpered."

Since I had just seen him fifteen minutes ago I gave him a look of "What?" My hands extended downward.

"It's nice to see you too, man. She should be back soon." Sam turned to check out the door and then scanned the room. "Oh she is back." He pointed to where Kensi, Deeks and Nell were talking to a woman with long brown hair. Her back was to me so Sam yelled across the bullpen to her. "Hey, I'd like you to meet my former partner." She turned to face me.

I was stunned because I knew her. We'd worked together in Europe. Her name was Ziva David and now it's Ziva DiNozzo. "How are you, Ziva?"

Sam thought he knew everything there was to know about me, his former partner. I can still surprise him, especially with my classified past. "What? You two know each other?"

"Yeah, we've known each other for years." She was obviously as surprised as I was. I turned to her as she came to us. "I thought that you had left NCIS."

She smiled up at me and laughed. Ziva was happy to see me. I expect filling my shoes hadn't been easy: Sam's a tough taskmaster. "I am back and quite happy about it. I heard a rumor that you got married."

I smiled at her and apparently it was a huge grin. (Sam teased me about it later.) "Yep and became a dad too. Want to see pictures?"

Her eyes popped open. "Of course I do."

I unfolded my billfold and took the picture of Gretchen out. "Are you going to be at Hetty's for Christmas?"

"Yes, though neither Tony nor I celebrate Christmas. This feels like this is mandatory. I know that Hetty wants to make sure we all are together as a family. We will meet each other's spouses. Your daughter is precious. What is her name?"

"Gretchen." I had seen Sam fidgeting and then he motioned for me to follow him. "I'll be right back. Something has come up."

Sam motioned me over into the alcove right off of the bullpen, curious about how I knew Ziva.

His curiosity was unexpected. "We worked on several ops in Europe and Russia."

Sam looked up at Deek's box on top of the cabinets and then with an exasperated sigh he asked the question that was bothering him. "Just how well do you know her?"

I tilted my head and met his eyes, "Is that partner jealousy I'm seeing? I just worked with her, nothing more. We had kind of a friendly rivalry. I was with the CIA and she was a new agent with the Mossad. We crossed paths in Europe quite often."

Sam's face showed relief. He seemed glad that he didn't have to sidestep _delicate issues._ "That's all there is to it?"

I started laughing. "Yup. It's just a friendship." I hesitated a second and then looked at Sam. My eyes must have expressed how funny I thought this was. "Wait a minute, do you think I slept with every woman I worked with?" Sam's laugh answered the question.

He looked away and got real serious. "What's going on, G? I saw you up talking with Eric."

At that moment, I wasn't sure how to explain it. I scratched my head and started telling him about what was happening. "I'm not really sure. It started as a flash on the hill where the Comescus camped, the day we brought Gretchen home."

That got Sam's attention. "Did you check it out?"

I watched him from the corner of my eye. I was watching Hetty in her office: she was brewing tea. "Of course, I actually started running to mask what I was doing. The first day the site was swept clean, period. There was nothing there. Then yesterday I found a candy wrapper that had been left behind, stuck between a tree and a rock. I'm pretty sure I hadn't missed it before."

Sam looked past me and out the mission door. When his focus came back I knew we were thinking alike. "You didn't miss it. The person came back again."

"It's a possibility." I felt like I was missing something.


	2. Chapter 2

The Christmas minions had packed all our packages into the trunk of the loaner car: just in time for me to get back to Sara and Gretchen. I explained to Hetty that we were using another of her homes because we were followed. Hetty asked if we needed a safe house. I said no and we'd watch our backs. She nodded and walked away. When I got home Sara was napping so I joined her. It was short-lived because my baby girl woke up and needed a feeding and a clean diaper. After Sara fed her, I held her for a bit while she went back to sleep. I love doing that.

The next day was the start of the conference. I was taking two classes; one on Chemical Warfare and the other on Urban Terrorism. I was taking a class on Close Combat and teaching a class on Surveillance the next. There was the distinct feeling that someone was watching me but could never find anyone. I felt aggravated by this.

At the end of the second day Eric called to say he had found something and he asked me to come to the OPS center when I had finished. When I showed up about 17:00, Eric and Nell were waiting for me. They had finished putting all the photos I had sent through facial recognition. Two pictures had popped up on recognition, neither of whom I recognized. One was an American who worked for a company that sold sensitive equipment to our government. I'd never met him. The other was a Bulgarian national, 42 years of age, brunette, and she was kind of pretty. Her name was Aneca Damoz and I had never heard of her. I noticed her only because she sat four rows behind us on the plane and she also took my class. Was she an NCIS agent?

Hetty became more and more concerned about this. She suggested reaching out to agencies other than NCIS. Sounded like a great idea to me. I called the rest of the team into the OPS center. Deeks and Kensi wanted to know what was up. I explained the matter and how they could work the case. Aneca's picture was on the big screen. They didn't recognize her either. I still had a feeling that she was familiar in some way, just like the candy wrapper. I couldn't make the connection and it bothered me. We left that night and I brought the picture with me. Sara didn't recognize her.

We waited and no other agencies responded to the request for information about Aneca. Kensi and Deeks kept pushing for answers and got nothing. Even Interpol had nothing: no fingerprints -and even more telling- no birth records. Aneca Damoz didn't exist prior to five years before. Who was she?

A few days later we opened the case in Ops again. Kensi and Deeks acknowledged that they had gotten no hits on their requests to the other agencies. Sam and Ziva had just returned from making an arrest on their case. Eric was flashing through information about the case when Aneca's picture went up on the screen.

Ziva's face became a study in inquiry. "What is her picture doing up?"

I rounded on her. "You know her?" After all the inquiries we had made, it came back to NCIS. "Where do you know her from?" I could feel my confusion growing. Why couldn't I remember this woman and how I knew her?

Ziva looked at the floor and then asked the question. "Why? You do not remember her? She was in Serbia with you about 15 years ago. She was blonde then and always had that odd candy with her. Remember?"

I remembered nothing about Aneca or her odd candy choice. I ran my hand over my brow "No I don't."

Ziva delivered her next bit of information with an incredulous look. "Really? You were pretty hot and heavy with her."

Sam turned towards me and got that "_I told you so"_ look and a smirk.

"Not now Sam." I put both of my hands to my head and looked about the Ops center. I was becoming more and more frustrated with the whole thing. "Then why don't I remember her?"

Zee took a minute to think about my situation. "You were shot just outside of Pristina and had to be airlifted to Germany for medical attention. Maybe you do not remember because of that."

Her information left me bothered. If it was a form of amnesia, my family could be in trouble and I wouldn't know why. "Maybe." Who had I been working with then? "Was she working with us?"

Ziva shook her head. "I am sorry. I am not sure who she was or who she was working with. Every time I saw her she was with you."

I know it was a dumb question but I felt frustrated and it had to be asked. "How badly was I hurt? Was I shot in the head?"

Ziva sighed and shook her head again. "No, you had a chest wound, but you lost a lot of blood and were out for several days, if not longer. She disappeared right after that."

It was an interesting turn in information. At least Serbia marked a place to start. "What were we working on?" But the information came to an abrupt stop.

Zee shook her head. "We were in the same area but not working on the same problem. I am sorry Callen. I have no idea."

It was a beginning. I put my hand on her arm to say thanks. "That's OK Ziva. It'll come back to me." I hoped to God it did.

* * *

><p><em>Never would I accept that Agent Callen, the raven among my swans, couldn't remember the mission he had been on or his encounter with Damoz. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency when this happened, so I expected answers from them. Early the next morning, I called the director of the CIA to get the information Callen needed. What happened on that operation? Director Davison was very polite and said that he would see what he could do to help: experience has taught me to not hold my breath waiting. I hedged my bet by calling Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs at the MRT in Washington and asking him for assistance. <em>

_Leroy Jethro Gibbs answered his phone as only he does. "Gibbs."_

_I will never get used to his curt replies, as greatly as I respect the man. "Jethro, it's Henrietta Lange. How are you?" It is probably better to ease Jethro into this conversation: It is after all, about Callen. I know the two of them have been friends for a long time. Jethro tends to go Old Papa Bear with his cubs. _

"_Hetty. It's good to hear from you. What's up?" I'm sure he knows that I don't usually call for nothing, so I could tell it got his radar up._

"_I need some information about Callen's CIA days. He worked for them in Serbia and something happened there. I need to know what. I'm just not sure the Agency will play nice." I knew that Jethro felt the same way. _

_Now his curiosity was roused. He looked around the MRT. "What do you need? I didn't work with him in Serbia until he was NCIS."_

_I decided to supply background for Jethro to work with. "He apparently was in Serbia earlier and worked with a young woman there. It was in the Pristina area."_

"_Back then I was in Bosnia. I had a friend who was in Serbia and in the Pristina area specifically. What exactly do you need to know?"_

"_I need to know what he was doing there. Apparently it is coming back to haunt him." I knew that I could trust Jethro._

_I could tell it bothered Jethro that a fifteen year old mission would come back to bite Callen but he'd had his share do that. "I'm seeing my friend soon and I will get back to you ASAP."_

_I sipped my tea and felt a bit of relief. "Thank you Jethro. Have a nice holiday."_

_He'd get back to her soon. She trusted Gibbs more than the director of a federal agency. _

* * *

><p>By Christmas Eve Eric and Nell had the boatshed all dressed up for the holidays. I brought Sara and Gretchen to meet everyone who had worked with me in the past. I could see that Sara remembered the last time she was in the boatshed, when I interrogated her. It could have doomed our relationship, but instead it became a catalyst to bring us ever closer. Sara was happy to meet everyone whom I had depended on before. I missed all of them. The evidence was in my interactions with them. There were genuine smiles and slaps on the shoulders that only come with trust and respect. Sara whispered to me that she loved watching me with them.<p>

Later that evening when we were back at the house and snuggled in bed, Sara broached the subject of moving back to Los Angeles. It intrigued me but I believed that Rhode Island was a safer place to live, and a lot quieter, so I wanted to stay put. That the Comescus and this new threat found us so easily niggled at me. I would think about it a bit more, later.


	3. Chapter 3

We came to Hetty's on that beautiful Christmas Day through the back gate. I didn't want to pick up a tail later when we left.

Hetty decorated her home in Dickensian style, a modern-day Christmas Carol: The day was festive, the food, excellent and plentiful and the time, one of family and camaraderie. The children opened their gifts and then played underfoot with their new toys. Sam, Deeks and I took Sam's son, Lucas, out to play with his new basketball. Surprisingly, there's a basketball hoop in front of Hetty's garage. Hetty, Sara, Michelle, Kensi and Sam's daughter, Marcia spent the afternoon playing and holding Gretchen. She'd definitely be spoiled if we lived here. I noticed Ziva and Tony having a hard time being part of the family. I guess next year will be Washington for them. I remember Jethro telling me about Christmas parties that Ducky and Abby would throw. They obviously missed their "family." Hetty liked having her "family" around during the holidays. She leaves the day after Christmas but wants to make sure we have a good holiday. Nell and Eric got fidgety and Hetty noticed. I suggested that she cut them loose. They were leaving that night to see Nell's family who she hadn't seen in over a year. Hetty told them to go and she would see them on January second.

Around six that evening Sara and I decided that we needed a little private Christmas celebration, just our little family. We drove back to our place and put Gretchen to bed. Sara and I had been on edge since bringing her home and didn't have much quality time together. I lit the fireplace and put big pillows on the floor. We opened a bottle of wine and sat close on the pillows like the first night we lived together. I wanted a special night for the two of us. We drank our wine, enjoyed the fire and each other. When Gretchen woke, we spent time feeding her and playing for a little while. Then we all went to bed.

Hetty left us to our own devices after Christmas Day. Deeks wanted to keep the party rolling so he called and asked if we wanted to go to the beach with him and Kensi. Sara and I agreed it would be fun to be with our family. We said we would meet them on Venice Beach. Kensi sat on the beach with Monty, who's really a homely but lovable dog. Deeks surfs and thought that I might want to surf as well so he brought a wet suit and board for me to use. I put the suit on and joined him on the waves. Kensi and Sara stayed on the beach and played with Monty and Gretchen. It turned into a great day with good people on a beautiful day. Sam and his family were going to join us later. Being outdoors makes everyone hungry so Deeks and I walked up to the food trucks. We just turned to come back when I noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Aneca stood there watching us. We gave the food to the girls and returned to the truck. Deeks walked toward her and I tried to come up behind her. Like milk on the sand, she melted into the crowd. We couldn't find her. It freaked me out seeing her there but I also felt that I had seen her do that before. We picked up our families and moved the party to Malibu. Sam and his family came to Malibu. Since Sam does not go into the water he carried his Sig; just in case.

The next day we all went to Sam's home. We spent the day playing basketball with his son, Lucas, and some Harry Potter games with his daughter, Marcia. Sara and Michelle had their heads together; making plans for a trip to Rhode Island after their new baby came.

We noticed that Tony and Ziva were absent and we wondered why. It seems they flew back to D.C. to be with their family for a couple of days. They missed Tim and Abby. Gibbs and his friend Ducky went to Stillwater, Pennsylvania to see his father. Hetty headed off to Macao to see friends and would be returning after the first of the year. Eric and Nell came home early. Eric felt that he missed something and he talked Nell into leaving. He wanted to try again.

I'll admit, after seeing Aneca, I paid better attention to my surrroundings. I watched more closely for tails and people that were hanging around our house.

I surprised Sara with a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway to the Vintner's Place: the site of our second date and the place we really started to know each other. We weren't followed and we felt safe there.

On January second we came into OPS. We discussed what we had come up with and what I remembered, which didn't amount to much. This line of questioning led me to wonder what exactly I had been doing during that time span. What happened in Serbia that the CIA had been interested in?

Hetty came into the room like the ninja we think she is, while we talked. "Before the holidays I spoke to the director of the CIA and asked what Mr. Callen had been involved in fifteen years ago. Obviously it's extremely sensitive because they still consider the mission classified. The director basically told me to bugger off… politely of course. Mr. Callen, I am calling in Mr. Getz to see if he can assist. Can you stay in Los Angeles for a few more days?"

I'm not surprised that she had inquired into the case but the "still classified" nature of the mission shocked me. "My classes do not start again until the end of the month." I nodded in assent.

She nodded as a way to say very well. "I also called Special Agent Gibbs and put in some requests for information from him. I expect to hear from him soon."

"Why did you call Jethro?" She still could surprise me.

"He served in Bosnia with NCIS at the time and had a friend in Serbia as well. His friend served in the medical corps in Pristina while you were there. I expect they will be able to shed some light on the subject."

The other members of the team dispersed to their current operations. There were two that needed immediate attention.

Eric motioned me over after everyone left. "What were some of the aliases that you used fifteen years ago?"

"Why?" But I actually knew where he was going with this request.

"Maybe they could give us a clue about what you were doing back then, since you can't remember." Eric hesitated; his eyes opened widely and looked at me in a fearful manner. "Only if they weren't classified, you know, a name you'd have to kill me after telling me." Eric looked at me with apprehension.

I laughed. "I didn't have any names that classified, I think, and that's a great idea!" I gave him a list of those I could remember.

Hetty called at that moment and requested my presence in her office.

Hetty asked me to have a seat. "Mr. Callen. It seems that Special Agent Gibbs was able to find information for our problem. He spent the holiday with Dr. Mallard who was posted to Pristina when you were. He was the Medical Agent in Charge of the area. Dr. Mallard remembers a case where the patient was shot in the chest and lost a lot of blood. The man's name was Mikael Petrov." While Hetty told me this she watched my face. She saw no sign of recognition on my part. "When Gibbs showed Dr. Mallard a picture of you he said you were Mikael Petrov. I sent Gibbs a picture of Aneca. Dr. Mallard recognized her but not from your operation. He has seen her before. Her name is Valentina Rossoff." Hetty had so much information at her disposal, but it still got us nowhere. "She is now Aneca Damoz. Valentina was a Russian agent sent to aid in the capture of Serbian war criminals."

Hetty set a cup of Darjeeling tea in front of me. I couldn't remember any of this. "Why don't I know this? Why did I have a Russian name?" I picked up the tea cup and drank from it because you never waste her precious tea. I put the cup and saucer back on her desk. It frustrated me and she could see it.

Hetty came around the desk and took my hand and held it like a mom. "Dr. Mallard said that a loss of that much blood could explain the memory loss but did not rule out memory loss due to emotional stress."

She let go of my hand and I took back the cup and took another sip of tea. I still didn't remember anything. "Who was Valentina Rossoff?" I got up, put the cup and saucer down and went back to OPS.

Eric said that he would check her out with Interpol. Eric began running Mikael Petrov and found me in Serbia. He didn't find much else. We also figured out why his search would never have worked. I never gave him Mikael Petrov as an alias. I must have been off the grid for that mission or the CIA had me in deep cover. He found when I had arrived and when they flew me out to Landstuhl, Germany. I had been in the hospital there for three weeks before being flown back to the United States. I recovered fully in Washington, D.C. The doctors noted, in my medical file, that I had memory lapses due to lack of blood to the brain. I am lucky to have memories of the rest of my life or a life at all.

The breakup of Yugoslavia heightened the tensions during the time in question. A lot of countries worked together to stop the wholesale slaughter of the people in the daughter countries, especially Serbia and Bosnia. The escalation of atrocities needed to be stopped. There were many Serbian and Bosnian war criminals who had paid to be protected against being found. Even though some of the war criminals paid to be protected, some were being found every day. Others were harder to locate especially Zoran Kravsic: he has never been found. Gibbs' information, while partially enlightening, left me still not understanding Valentina's or my role in Serbia.

I drove home to be with Sara and Gretchen. Hopefully with the information gained today my brain would start to process and I would have some answers. Jethro placing me in Pristina and Ducky placing Aneca there helped a lot. As I drove home I had the feeling someone followed me but I couldn't find the tail. The day had not been everything I had hoped for except for one thing: I'd finally found out where the other bullet hole came from.

Sara waited for me to come home before starting dinner. Kensi called right after I walked in the door. She and Deeks wanted us to join them at the Santa Monica Pier for dinner. I told her we'd meet them in about thirty minutes. We ate dinner in a restaurant on the pier and then went out on the beach to wait for a gorgeous California sunset. Tonight's was turning the sky crimson and purple as it faded away to a light peach. Kensi and Deeks walked along the beach, and while they waded they spotted Aneca. They rushed us back into the restaurant and went after her. She had faded into the crowd and then showed up outside the restaurant. I called Kensi. Aneca stood outside the restaurant and watched Sara and me. I needed to talk to her so I told Sara to stay put and went out to confront her. She stood there looking at me and then melted into the crowd. In my mind's eye I saw her do that in Europe fifteen years ago. Watching her gave me an eerie wake up.

_I did know her, but how? What relationship did we have back then? Were we just co-workers? What else could there be? While we drove home I thought about her. I don't think that I would block out a person I had worked with. Wait! Ziva said that we were "hot and heavy." Would I have compromised my mission for that? I don't think so, but I didn't know about Aneca._

Kensi and Deeks followed us home and I asked them to stay the night. Deeks said he wouldn't leave and Kensi nodded in agreement. I have to admit the whole evening freaked me out.

The next day Deeks stayed at the house with Sara and Gretchen: It relieved me that they would have protection. Kensi and I went to the Mission to meet with Nate Getz.

Hetty had my medical records from Landstuhl Medical Center sent to us and Nate had spent the morning looking through them. I met with Hetty to tell her about the previous evening, about seeing Aneca on the beach and that Deeks stayed with Sara and Gretchen. She Ok'd it, relieved that the girls were not left alone. She also made arrangements for us to move to another safe house.

Sam and Ziva came in and we compared notes. Sam had been in Bosnia with his SEAL team. They were also looking for war criminals. It amused me that all of us had been in that area. Sam shared what he worked on in the area and that he had heard a story about a Russian team that had been looking for Zoran Kravsic. One member of the team had nearly died and his partner had disappeared.

I glanced up from the file I worked on. "Apparently that's Aneca and me."

He wore a surprised expression. "Really? I also heard that Kravsic also had an inside man who helped him escape. Serbia is still looking for him."

"That explains why the CIA doesn't want to talk about my mission." It made perfect sense. Director Davision would never have allowed such a mistake to be made available to another agency.

Nate called me into his office. Through past experience Nate knew that I normally avoided his brain tinkering but he also knew that this situation would eventually affect my family and I would sit through anything for them. Nate looked at the medical file and told me I had been very lucky. The rest of the team I had been working with had been notified of my location when I was shot. I received immediate care and then the doctors medi-vaced me out to Landsthul. They never found my partner Valentina: never found her, until now. Nate talked about my injuries and the political ramifications of the Serbian/Bosnian Conflict. I think he tried to jog my memory. I'm still mystified about why I had the alias Mikael Petrov. I told Nate that we had seen Aneca on the beach last night but not been able to approach her. He made a note and said that it seems to be a good idea that Deeks stayed with Sara and the baby. Aneca seemed "unbalanced" in Nate's opinion. As I thought about her more, I had a memory jolt. I saw her disappear like she did on the beach and I remembered that as we traveled through Europe together we used the "romance ploy." Mikael Rossoff had married Valentina ten years prior to our mission. He had infiltrated Kravsic's organization because he spoke fluent Serbian and at that time I didn't. I had a hard time getting past that and Nate called it a day. He said we'd try again tomorrow.

I stopped downstairs to see Hetty. She suggested moving to Malibu for a few days and she had arranged to have food delivered. I exchanged cars to stop the tail and then went to pick up Sara and the baby. Deeks went with us in his own car to ensure our safety. I really appreciated his help. After we arrived and checked out the house and immediate area, Deeks left to go work. He needed to be there with his partner.

I sat out on the deck looking out at the Pacific Ocean. Sara fed and changed Gretchen and put her down for a nap. She joined me on the deck and we talked about the session with Nate. Her suggestion; take it slowly. Maybe there's more to the memory loss than the severe injury. Maybe there had been something more with Aneca. What did I know about her real husband? What had my relationship with Aneca been like? Sara asked some really good questions. It's just that I couldn't be sure of the answers, yet. I had this feeling that I needed to speed up the memory process though. I wanted her and Gretchen to be safe again.

That night in a dream I went back to Serbia. Aneca and I were in a dark alley and being chased by a black-eyed monster. Where did the jealousy come from? I don't believe that I ever became jealous of Aneca's husband or of their relationship. I hoped the dream would open a door in my next session with Nate.

Chapter 11

Nate called the next morning to arrange an eleven o'clock appointment. I mentioned Sara's questions to him and told him of last night's dream. He said he would think about it and he would see me later.

I knew that Nate Getz believes in being very thorough. He had come in early to get Eric to look up Mikael Rossoff. The Russian Intelligence Agency, SVR, had spoken highly of his abilities, but Nate worried about the streak of cruelty in the operations that he had been part of. While talking on the phone he asked me if Aneca felt that lash of cruelty and if it had been part of my mission. He felt sure that it had.

When I arrived, Nate began to ask a series of questions that he felt would prod my memories in the direction they needed to go. "When you were in Serbia did the cruelty that you saw ever get to you?" I looked at him and knew he always had a reason for his questions. I decided to go with it. I took my time answering the question. "There were a lot of really cruel, horrible things going on in Serbia at the time. We were sent in to stop the atrocities and to do that we had to infiltrate different groups and capture the bad guys. Sometimes we were successful and other times…"

Nate pushed with another question. He had an eyebrow raised like he awaited a certain answer. "How about closer to your operations?"

"Yes. One of Kravsic's men, named Slobodan Ranjic, was particularly evil and 'cruel' doesn't even come close. He had a black, black heart."

Another pointed question from Nate. "Do you know who he was?"

I didn't really know where this line of questioning led. It woke my memories slowly. All of a sudden I saw the black eyed monster and knew his name. "I didn't remember until just now."

Nate pondered this for a moment and then asked, "Who was he?"

I looked around Nate's office and noticed all the diplomas and awards on his wall. He's good at what he does. I looked Nate right in the eye. "He's Aneca's husband, Mikael Rossoff."

Nate kept a close watch on my face. He wanted to catch all the expressions that would tell him about my emotional state. "What was your relationship with Mikael Rossoff?"

I answered as honestly as I could. "I felt sorry for Aneca. She would show up with bruises on her wrists. I never saw any others. We lived in the same flat, posing as a newly married couple, but that is where the pretense ended. I think that Rossoff thought that we had carried it further but we hadn't. I remembered feeling sympathy for her and suggesting that she leave him. Aneca said they had a lousy marriage but were a great spy team."

"I understand the feelings between you and Aneca, but what were the feelings of Rossoff towards you?"

I looked out of Nate's "office" onto the floor of the mission into a hubbub of activity. I looked back at Nate. "We didn't like each other much. I disliked him for his treatment of his wife and he hated me for what he thought I was doing with Aneca. We weren't and he couldn't accept that."

Nate watched my face for emotions again. "What, exactly, were your feelings for Aneca?"

I looked up at Nate and thought about my answer for a moment and then responded, "I felt like a big brother, nothing else. Why?"

"I just want to fill in the picture and I want you to think about what was really going on. I think that you understand what was going on back then perfectly, but are you being honest with yourself about your feelings for her?"

I thought about it for a long second and realized that Nate had asked a pertinent question. "Yes I am. There was nothing there but friendship."

Chapter 12

I left Nate's office and went down to see Sam. I hadn't seen him since the day on the beach at Malibu. He and Ziva had just returned from bringing in the bad guys from their op.

Sam looked up at me and asked, "How's the Brain Game going?"

I laughed and then got serious. "This time I don't mind. He's helping me to understand my relationship to Aneca and what was going on in Serbia. I got a feeling that there was more than catching Kravsic."

"Oh Ziva, 'hot and heavy' was an act. We were pretending to be newlyweds. Nobody looks at young lovers. Aneca was already married to Mikael Rossoff. You might know him as Slobodan Ranjic."

Ziva's face dropped. You could see the hatred on it. "That cruel and heartless bastard, oh that poor girl."

I shrugged. It's all in the past. "I know."

Ziva bit my head off. "No you do not. Ranjic was the one the Mossad was after. We thought that he was the real evil in that group. Unfortunately Kravsic killed him before we could arrest him."

"Kravsic killed him?" I thought out loud but inside I knew it wasn't true but didn't know how I knew it. In my mind I saw him die.

Ziva crossed the bullpen to her desk. "You do not believe it?"

I stood at the doorway to the bullpen and shook my head. "No. It doesn't seem right to me. I don't think that Kravsic knew he wasn't Serbian. I vaguely remember someone telling me that but I don't know who."

"Maybe it was Aneca?" Ziva didn't believe it but she questioned it for me.

"Maybe." The vision of his dying didn't convince me though.

Chapter 13

I felt my head begin to pound. I left the mission and drove toward Malibu. Before I hit the freeway I stopped by Field's Market to pick up diapers for Gretchen.

When I came out Aneca leaned against my car. I looked down at the ground and wondered to myself, how does she do this? "Hello, Aneca."

I remembered her voice but she sounded sadder. "Hello, Mikael."

I watched some shoppers get into their cars. I wanted them out of the way just in case this didn't go well. "Aneca, my real name is Callen."

Her response bewildered me. "No you are Mikael."

"No I'm not. You knew my undercover name, Mikael. We were posing as a married couple to get information to the Russian Intelligence about Kravsic and his group. Why do you insist that I'm Mikael now?"

Aneca looked confused but then went on with, "We were married in Moscow. I worked with you for ten years. You disappeared, I went home to Moscow and had our child. He lives there with my mother." This information blew me away. I wondered why she thought Mikael Rossoff and I were the same person. "Aneca, I am not Mikael Rossoff. He's your husband. The SVR gave me the name Mikael Petrov. I don't know what happened to your husband, but I have never married anyone until last year. I am happily married to my wife and have a beautiful daughter."

She became more visibly upset as I spoke. "How could you leave me for her?"

This conversation needed to be held but it would have to be somewhere else. Aneca needed help and I needed to get it for her soon or this whole situation might blow up in my face. I hit the button on my phone that gave an agent in distress signal knowing that someone would hear it.

Aneca, at least cognizant of the fact that we were having a very private conversation in a parking lot took her pistol out, pointed it at me and told me to get in my car. We would go somewhere private to talk and get "reacquainted." I really didn't want to go anywhere with her but had no choice. She's a trained agent and I knew that if I tried to disarm her it could cost me my life. I went with her. She wanted to go to my house to meet Sara and Gretchen. Not going to happen; I took her to my real house.

The drive to my house isn't that long so I drove in concentric circles. I hoped that Aneca would have no sense of direction in Los Angeles and that she didn't know where we were going. We drove around for an extra forty minutes until I brought her to the house. I knew that Eric could plot my course and help would be waiting when we got there. I hoped that a member of the team headed to Sara. She knew how to protect herself and had borrowed a Sig from Hetty but I wanted the extra security for them.

When we arrived at my house Aneca was enraged. She wanted to meet Sara and Gretchen and I wouldn't give her that. Sam and the team hadn't arrived yet either. That concerned me.

I needed to keep her mind busy until the team arrived. So I started questioning her about Serbia. Maybe it would nudge my mind as well. "How did Zoran Kravsic die?"

Aneca looked at me like she really didn't want to answer the question. Maybe she really didn't know. She slowly looked at me and I could see anger in her eyes. "Ranjic assassinated Kravsic. He wanted the top spot in the organization. He felt that then he could have whatever he wanted. When you disappeared he came after me."

"You did realize that Slobodan Ranjic and Mikael Rossoff, your husband, were the same man."

"I married a wonderful, caring, loving man, you."

I knew that she needed to believe she married Rossoff, but for some reason she had blocked him out. That had been a mess of a mission: we both had lapses of memory. "Aneca, can I call someone who can help us both?"

I had roused her suspicion. "Who would that be? Why do we need help?"

I smiled at her. "I want to call a colleague who is very good at figuring out puzzles like this." It couldn't hurt to stay on her good side as her pistol waved in my direction. I had my Sig; I just didn't want any reason to shoot her. I wondered why she hadn't taken my Sig or my phone. I wanted to help her and to get that part of my memory back. I know that I could have overpowered her at any time but it felt wrong and I didn't want to act like Rossoff.

She relaxed and looked me in the eye. I think that she sensed she could trust me. "Call him."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. My screensaver was a picture of Gretchen.

"She is a pretty little girl. I have a picture of Alexi. She showed me a picture of her son. He looked just like his mother. It relieved me that he didn't look like Mikael, but in retrospect, looking like Rossoff would have helped me out.

"Yes Callen, what do you need?"

"I need you to come to my home in Venice. I have Aneca with me and we need your help with this puzzle." I sounded calm as a cucumber, I hoped.

"Are you on speaker phone?" Nate obviously had information for me.

I looked at Aneca and smiled. "No. Aneca is right here."

"Kensi is on her way to Malibu. The rest are on their way to your house."

"Fine, they stay outside and you come in alone. We need to talk, with your help. I don't want to freak her."

"Are there weapons involved?" Nate questioned her state of mind.

"Yup. Step carefully my friend."

"What exactly is going on, Callen?"

"Nate, just get here. I don't want to do this on the phone. Get here quickly."

"I'm on my way." Nate hung up.

Nate showed up about thirty minutes later. He cautiously approached the house. Aneca met him at the front door.

"Hello Aneca. I'm a friend of Callen's." He made no mention of being an operational psychologist. I'm assuming he didn't want to upset her. He had grabbed a few waters and some granola bars from the office. When Nate noticed that Aneca still aimed the pistol at me, he talked her into putting it down so that we could talk. She placed it on the windowsill behind her.

Nate made sure we all had a bottle of water and were sitting on the floor facing each other. "You know that my name is Nate. I also know that you are being called Aneca as we speak, but can I use your former name, Valentina?"

Aneca, visibly shaken responded angrily. "I am not Valentina. I am Aneca."

"You were Valentina when you worked with Mikael Petrov."

"I do not know her."

"She married Mikael Rossoff who in turn became Slobodan Ranjic." Nate mentioned quietly. He watched her face as he said it. She became visibly upset by this information. "What is bothering you, Valentina?"

She became emotional. Hatred and sadness combined with anger and fear and loneliness and sorrow. "Ranjic, he's a horrible person. He would take whatever he wanted or whoever he wanted."

Nate looked her directly in the eye. I could see he wanted to see what her reaction to sharing this with me would be. "What do you mean by that?"

She tensed and tears rolled down her cheeks, a very powerful memory of him broke her. "He came after me once Mikael had left."

I felt responsible for what she needed to share. "Valentina, what happened?"

She looked away from Nate and me in shame. "Ranjic came to our apartment. He broke into our home and attacked me."

My fists clenched. Why would he do that? She's his wife. I don't understand men like that. Judging from the look on Nate's face he doesn't either. He has to clean up after them.

Nate's next question upset her even more. "Why would your husband do that to you?"

Aneca became anxious and angry. "He was not my husband. I keep telling you that."

"I have seen and brought with me, a copy of your marriage certificate to Mikael Rossoff. Russia, at the time, put photographs with the license. The picture shows you as Valentina Rumanska and your husband as Mikael Rossoff; Not Mikael Petrov."

Aneca's eyes flashed with anger. She made a wild grab for her pistol but Nate had taken it. She stood ready to fight or flee. I moved closer to her but she burst into tears and became very agitated.

"Valentina, what happened to Ranjic?" He softly took her hands in his and tried to calm her down.

She sobbed heavily now and didn't want to answer the question. I left the room to get a granola bar for her and to the bathroom to get tissues for her. This line of questioning became more difficult for her and didn't head towards any answers. I needed questions answered. What had happened that had gotten me shot in the chest? Had I left because of the shooting or had I left to meet someone?

I motioned to Nate that I wanted to ask some questions. He nodded in agreement and I brought the granola bar and tissues to Aneca. "Valentina, when you said I left, did I go to the store, to a meet or after I went to the hospital?"

She looked at me as if she didn't understand the question.

I took her hands in mine and looked her in the eyes. "Did I leave for the day or forever?"

"You went to meet our handlers." She still cried but was becoming more at ease with Nate and the questions.

Nate looked between the two of us. "Why did you and Callen have the same handlers?"

"We were funneling information through the SVR to the CIA. We were both after the same man, Kravsic."

That explained the Russian name. "Rossoff came to the apartment when I went out? Why?"

"He came to see me. That is when he attacked me and raped me." She answered in an empty voice and then she became more agitated.

"Why would he do that?" It confused me.

"Rossoff wanted to make sure I was his. He left his mark on me many times. He was sending a message to you as well. Don't mess with his woman. You came home and found me. You got very angry. You went after him."

"Then what happened?" We were getting answers to both our questions.

"We found him at the rendezvous and you asked what he had done and why. He said that he took what was his and that you had no business with his wife. You tried to tell him that our relationship was friends only. Unfortunately, when he had come to our apartment, he was so demanding and angry that I became irritated with him and I told him it was more before he raped me. I hated him and wanted to be free, I wanted a man more like you than him. He became irrational and pulled a gun on you. I went to protect you and he shot you. It was so bad. I lost my mind and shot him. I called our people to find you and get you help. I then hid his body. He had hid Kravic's body in one of the mass graves and I added his to it." She replied in a sad voice.

"Valentina, what happened then?" I asked.

"You were taken to the hospital in Germany and I went home to Moscow. I didn't know what happened to Mikael. Maybe the mental illness was already starting. I found out that I was pregnant because of the rape a month later. I think that I lost my mind a little that day. By the time the SVR announced his death two years later, I had mentally exchanged the bastard of a husband for a man that I could trust, love and one who loved me gently, you. Five years ago, Valentina disappeared and Aneca came to be. I could not look at Alexi anymore. My mother has him and thinks that I died on a mission for Russia."

I looked at Nate and he nodded and asked, "What do you want to do now, Aneca?"

Aneca looked to Nate and then to me. She gave a questioning, almost a pleading gaze. "I would like to meet your wife and child and then go home to my son and mother."

I worried about this. Nate explained to me that it would be a good idea, away for her to close this episode in her life so she could go home in peace. To my question, would she get help at home? Nate said he would recommend it strongly to her. I called Kensi to bring Sara and Gretchen to the house.

Chapter 14

Kensi came about forty-five minutes later. Sara seemed worried about this meeting. Nate explained what had happened to her. Sara was willing to try to help a woman who had been through so much and who had loved me enough to save me. Aneca showed Sara a picture of Alexi. He's a handsome boy. I hoped that she would send more current pictures of Alexi. I promised that we would stay in touch and future pictures of Gretchen would go to Russia. I felt that I owed her something. After all I'm her "big brother." Aneca played with Gretchen for about an hour. Nate then took her to the boatshed to talk further and Sara and I took Gretchen home for a good night's sleep

The next day the team met at the mission. Hetty smiled and appeared happy that we had concluded the operation without harming any of us- or Aneca.

Nate had told me that he given her some names of psychologists in Moscow and that she said she would see one. He said she couldn't wait until she got home to see her son. Nate had driven her to LAX and made sure she boarded the plane for Moscow.

Ziva had an announcement. Gibbs had relented and gave his permission for her to work in D.C., not with Tony, but in the same building. Gibbs has gotten soft in his old age. That meant that there would be a job available in Los Angeles.

Hetty looked at me.

I looked back at her. "What?"

"I need a special agent, Mr. Callen. Would you be interested in the job?" She had that all knowing look on her face.

I tilted my head so that she could see my smirk. "I'll let you know later. I need to talk to Commander Jameson in Newport. I also have a certain lady to discuss this with."

Hetty gave a hoot of laughter. "Some Special Agent you are. She said its fine."

I couldn't believe my ears. "You've already asked her?" Hetty and Sara were conspiring against me. I'm in so much trouble.

"Yes, Mr. Callen, at Christmas. Oh, and Commander Jameson said it had been only a matter of time before you'd come back to me, but talk to him anyway." Hetty smiled like the Cheshire Cat.

I went to Malibu to talk to Sara. She gave permission, gladly, to move back to Los Angeles. When I called Commander Jameson, he said had been happy to have me for the classes that I had taught. He also said I would be welcome back anytime. It sounds like he might request me as a guest speaker sometime.

It took a week to go back and pack up all of Gretchen's things. We packed up the dishes that Sara had bought when she moved to Rhode Island and in amongst them, the teapot she had purchased so long ago. We had the perfect place for it in our new home.

Sara had bought some furniture when she moved to the her house, some left over from her first marriage and Luther let her take the antique dining room set that she had fallen in love with. He felt grateful that she had taken good care of his mother's house and he would miss her. We met with Dick Roisen and his wife to say thank you. He had looked after her and I appreciated all he had done for my family. I had grown to like and respect the man.

Moving day arrived and we figured we would have a full day moving stuff into the rental truck. We were inside having tea when a car pulled up honking its horn. We went out to find Sam, Kensi and Deeks there to help. The team saved me again. We spent the night in the motel down the road drinking beer and eating pizza with our friends. After moving all that furniture everyone had a good night's sleep. They flew back to Los Angeles and we started the long drive home to Los Angeles.

21


End file.
